Disclaimer: I don't own VD or any characters in the show.

Last Dance

Elena gracefully slipped through the crowd, trying to avoid Damon's piercing gaze. At moments like these she almost missed the old Damon; the one who rarely showed he cared at all. Naturally, Elena was thankful for his concern, but he had to give her more credit - she wasn't stupid, but she needed to find out what Esther wanted. It was risk of course, no one knew what the newly resurrected 1000-year-old witch wanted, but Elena had faith that whatever she wanted to discuss would give them a way to finally defeat Klaus. She was getting so very tired of all of this, these deaths and pain and suffering.

She couldn't help but to think back on the good old times when her biggest worry was what she was suppose to wear for school so she could impress Matt.

Elena glanced around once more, exhaling in relief when she noticed that neither Stefan nor Damon where around. This was her moment. Just as she was about to walk up the stairs, a hand shot out of nowhere and firmly grasped her forearm, squeezing it firmly but not painfully.

"What are you thinking?" an annoyed voice hissed in her ear and Elena frowned.

"Let me go, Damon," she replied sharply, keeping her voice low.

"Have you lost your mind?"

She twisted her arm out of his hold and send him a hot glare that Damon wholeheartedly returned.

"No, Damon I haven't lost my mind," she said, "But we need to know what Esther wants."

Damon's temper seemed to flare as his eyes narrowed. "I told you that you're not going to see that old witch by yourself. Tell me which part of that sentence got lost in translation."

Elena exhaled slowly, lips pressed in a tight line. "Damon I know you care, but you have to trust me."

"I do trust you, just not with this."

Turning around, Elena was about to walk up the stairs again but Damon stopped her once more.

"I swear, I will knock you out and drag you out of here if I have to," he threatened darkly, his blue eyes cutting through her sharply. "I won't let you go and try to kill yourself again."

Elena struggled in his hold, her brown eyes burning angrily. "You can't control me all the time, Damon," she whispered fiercely. Damon looked ready to smash something when her words registered in his mind.

"Is there a problem here?" a smooth, amused voice asked from behind them. Elena was the first one to look over Damon's shoulder and catch a glance of the newcomer.

A young man was standing behind them, his brown hair slightly tousled in different directions, brown eyes lit with mischief and a small secretive smirk on his lips. Elena blinked, pulling her hand out of Damon's and cleared her throat awkwardly. She knew he was one of the newly reawakened Originals, she remembered him standing on the stairs with his siblings when Elijah was giving his speech. He looked rather young, physically close to her age by the looks of it.

"No, there is no problem here," she replied at last. "Damon was just leaving me alone," she added, giving him a solemn look but Damon simply glanced at the Original behind him shook his head.

"Get lost!"

The brown haired Original titled his head, looking more like a curious, young boy than a dangerous vampire.

"Now, is that anyway to treat a lady," he said charmingly, stepping closer towards the duo. "Especially, when that lady is my mother's honour guest tonight."

"Why don't you mind your own business?" Damon snapped.

Something dark and almost sinister passed through Original's brown eyes, but it was gone in flash, and he smiled again, albeit a little forced.

"It appears my brother was right," he mused quietly, "You Salvatore's are rude."

"Well, well, brother," Stefan's voice suddenly broke the staring contest between two vampires. "I thought we agreed that we will stop pissing off the Originals."

Elena sighed in relief, glad that that Stefan interfered now, before anything ugly happened. Stefan approached his brother with small smile of his own and patted Damon on the shoulder; the gestured would have looked innocent and brotherly if not for the force behind the pat. It was more like a warning.

"How about you and I walk outside for a bit?" he asked him.

"And leave her unprotected, forget it," Damon shot back.

Elena glanced at the young Original and seeing the calculating look in his eyes, pushed Damon towards the exit.

"You need a breath of fresh air, Damon," she told him, ignoring the look he was giving her. Damon suddenly shook off Stefan's hand that was still on his shoulder, jerking away from them both.

"Fine," he said furiously, "Anything happens to her, it's on you," he snarled, directing his words towards Stefan and stalked off, his figure quickly disappearing in the sea of people.

Stefan glanced at her and giving her a small nod went after Damon.

"Dramatic." The Original spoke up, making Elena jump. "They say that the younger the vampire, the more arrogant they are. In this case I agree."

He suddenly gave her a devilish smile and stepped even closer towards her. Graceful as a panther stalking its prey, he extended his hand, a mischievous spark in his eyes.

"I apologise, I don't believe we have met before, I'm Kol Mikaelson."

Elena stared at his outstretched hand for a moment before placing her own in his. His smirk widened as he brushed his lips against her gloved hand. "Elena Gilbert."

"Ah, yes. The newest doppelganger, my family talks about you - a lot," he said playfully and Elena nodded in understanding.

"I'm sorry about Damon, sometimes he can be…"

"A prat?" Kol supplied helpfully.

Elena shook her head a little, although a small smile played across her face. "That's not true."

"Isn't it?" he asked. "Well, how about this, I will accept your apology if you agree to dance with me."

Even though his tone was harmless, Elena was wary. The request seemed innocent enough, but the devious and sinister look in his eyes wasn't very promising. However, she knew that declining his request would probably make things even worse so with much effort she let the Original lead her to the dance floor. On their way there they passed Elijah who gave Elena a mildly concerned look, noticing her company. The doppelganger just gave him a tired smile as a reply and continued walking, Kol steadily walking by her side.

The two waited until the current song finished and walked into the middle of dance floor, hands clasped together. Elena slowly placed her hand on Kol's shoulder and another in his hand, which was surprisingly warm since she could feel the warmth even through her gloves. Kol smirked deviously, securing his arm around her tiny waist.

The two leisurely swayed to the rhythm of the song, neither of them talking, until Kol finally broke the silence. "It's strange how much you look like Tatia and Katerina."

"Tatia? Katherine? Wait, you know Katherine?" Elena asked, giving him a surprised look.

"Hmm," he hummed in confirmation, twirling her around. "We met during 1897. She was on the run from my brother," he said, sounding strangely amused.

Elena nodded. "And who's Tatia? I never heard of her before."

"Really?" he asked, looking down at her. He sounded genuinely surprised. "She's the Original Petrova, your ancestor, the originator of the Petrova bloodline."

Elena's expression was akin to one of shock as she stared at Kol, her lips slightly parted.

"Now, Miss Gilbert, I know I'm handsome, but staring is rude," he said teasingly, smiling dashingly down at her. Elena quickly diverted her gaze to the floor and Kol chuckled humorously.

"Quite honestly, I fail to see why my brothers and Salvatores worship the doppelgangers so much, it's quite pathetic actually."

Ignoring the jab, Elena found herself countering his words without thinking of the danger it may bring. "So are you saying that love is pathetic?"

Kol smiled darkly and effortlessly spun her around, locking his arm around her waist again, bringing her closer. "Oh, yes. Sweet, innocent little doppelganger." He whispered menacingly in her ear, making Elena's skin crawl.

"You're wrong, Mr Mikaelson. Love gives people strength and will to protect those they care about," she countered, giving him a determined look. Kol titled his head again, amusement dancing in his eyes, the wicked grin never leaving his face.

"For humans, perhaps," he agreed, albeit a little reluctantly. "For vampires, however, it's a greatest weakness."

"I believe, I will disagree again," Elena responded. "I know vampires who have become so much better, simply because they fell in love with someone."

At the moment, Elena couldn't help but to think of Damon, and how much he had changed since the first day he had come to Mystic Falls. He was heartless, arrogant, and unpredictable. Much like Kol was now. Truth to be told, Elena found the similarities almost uncanny.

Kol's playful smile suddenly turned into a wicked one as he pulled Elena so close to him their bodies were touching. "So if I go right now and stake your precious Salvatore brothers, do you truly think that this so called 'love' of yours will give you strength to protect them? From me?"

Elena sniffled a gasp as Kol's warm breath tickled her neck and she frowned, trying to push him off her, annoyed by his low chuckling that vibrated in her ear.

"You're feisty Miss Gilbert, I like that in a woman," he said smoothly, leading them both around the dance floor as the song neared its end. "But, I recommend that you stop being foolish and believing that the Salvatore's love you - vampires are incapable of love."

"And how do you know that?" Elena shot back, still struggling to get free, but unsurprisingly the Original held on tighter all while looking completely relaxed and at ease.

"I think you will find that after existing for 1000 years, you learn everything there is to know about human nature," Kol answered, scanning the crowd for someone before turning his brown eyes onto the petite brunette in his arms. "You humans are worthless blood bags that exist simple for our amusement."

"How can you say that?" she whispered, staring at him in disbelief.

Kol let out a cold, menacing laugh, narrowing his eyes at the doppelganger. "Please don't tell me that you think that the Salvatore's are any different? They're vampires; both of them, and it is in their nature to kill. Just like they will kill you one day when one of them loses control."

"Stop," she pleaded. This time she felt tears burning her vision as his harsh, cruel words echoed in her mind. And as much as Elena wanted to lie to herself and don't believe in Kol, she knew that there was some truth to his words as twisted as they were. The Original himself was the best example of his words - emotionless and heartless, that's how he was. Like an ice statue, cold and untouchable to human hand, yet so beautiful and mysterious, and the more dangerous he was, the closer he drew you in.

Kol reached out as a single tear escaped the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek. He caught it halfway with his finger, smiling slightly as he brought it closer to his lips and Elena watched in sick fascination as his tongue gently swiped at his finger, tasting her tears.

"Human tears," he murmured softly, his eyes drifting to her neck as he observed her sad yet unyielding stare. "It's moments like these that defy you as a human. At that moment, just before they die, they are at their most vulnerable position, and their tears make it that much more delightful when you drain their life from them."

Elena felt sick from his words, but didn't back down. "How can you get pleasure from killing, from watching others suffer?"

The smirk was back like it was never gone in the first place. "Because, dear Elena, I thirst for bloodshed; I live for it."

The devious gleam in his eyes was back as he gave her a crooked smirk. Elena kept silent for a moment, staring at him, trying to understand him better even though the task seemed impossible.

"Is that truly the only reason you live for? To cause mayhem?" she asked softly. The wicked twinkle in his eyes was enough of an answer and she looked down, an undeniable sense of sadness flooding her suddenly.

"If what your saying is true, then you will never know love nor friendship, how wonderful it is to have someone dear and special to you in your life," she explained gently. "You will continue this meaningless existence for the rest of eternity, forever alone, and I feel sorry for you."

Kol stopped dead, looking like he was slapped across the face, his body rigid. Anger was the first emotion that flashed through his eyes, then annoyance, and lastly it settled on amusement. His body relaxing with the last emotion.

"What curious little thing you are Miss Gilbert," he mussed out loud, watching her through half-lidded eyes, half smirk still in place, it was like that smirk was permanently attached to his face. "I believe I will be seeing you again soon. Thank you for this marvellous dance."

With that he released her from his hold, and his lips once again ghosted over her knuckles delicately. Second later he disappeared from her sight, swallowed by the crowd, leaving Elena alone in the middle of dance floor. It was obvious that her words angered him, if his quick exit was anything to go by. The truth usually hurt, so maybe there was smallest part of him, somewhere deep down that did care to some degree. Elena once believed that Damon was a heartless monster and could never care about anyone, and how wrong was she about that.

There was some humanity in all vampires, it just depended on them if they wanted to feel or not. And oddly enough, she felt as though she learned a little more about the unpredictable Original tonight. Kol, no doubt, had a malevolent attitude, and was more than a little crazy. However, Elena knew that Damon was once just like that.

And if someone like Damon Salvatore managed to find that smallest shred of humanity left in him, Elena Gilbert was certain that the charming yet deadly Kol Mikaelson could as well.

A/N: Hello, lovlies! This is my first post on VD fandom and I have to say, I'm nervous! Not to mention I began my journey here with a rather strange pairing, no? Well, I ship Elena with anybody and I fell in love with Kol from the moment I saw him. Can you blame me, really? First Damon, then Klaus, now Kol, I'm beginning to worry about the fact that I like all the unstable guys in the show! ;D But I guess that's not entirely true since I also love Elijah and Stefan and they're both alright, well, Stefan no so much; he can be a bit crazy sometimes.

It's also a shame we've only seen Kol for three episodes and now he left the Mystic Falls. I hope they bring him back soon! I will probably have to write more about him to ease my Kol withdrawals! Hmm...maybe a Kol/OC or another Kol/Elena story, who knows? XD *sigh*

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this one-shot! I haven't read much Kol/Elena work, if any, so I hope I did alright! :)

So, anyone Klaus/Elena or Elijah/Elena one-shot?

Regards.

A.